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4 | 14th - 20th March 2014 | UtILItY WEEK National media Switching Switching figures for February reveal how smaller suppliers are continuing to grow. February 2014 248,153 = total switches 104,376 = small supplier gains 42.06% = small supplier gains December 2013 391,072 = total switches 102,884 = small supplier gains 26.31% = small supplier gains Carbon floor price will seal the fate of coal The last vestiges of the British coal industry, which still employs 11,000 people and generates 40 per cent of Britain's electricity, will be wiped out unless the chancellor does a U-turn on the carbon floor price. That is the stark warning in a report published today by Nera, the economic consultancy, which also warns that George Osborne's accelerating carbon tax is risking blackouts and unaffordable power prices and will stifle investment in technology to produce "clean" coal through carbon capture. The Times Energy firms fight ban on wild land windfarms Four of the country's largest energy firms have piled pressure on Alex Salmond to abandon planning changes that would make it harder for them to build windfarms on wild land. Scottish Power, SSE, EDF and Eon warned the first minister that the ban would seriously damage his chances of meeting ambitious green energy targets. The Telegraph Centrica sticks to US earnings target Centrica, the owner of British Gas, is sticking with its plan to double its earnings in North America, despite the problems that have hit the busi- ness over the past year. Sam Laidlaw, Centrica's chief executive, reaffirmed his ambition to develop the business through organic growth and acquisitions, even though profits from Direct Energy, the North American gas and electricity supply business, fell last year and are expected to be roughly flat this year. Financial Times Story by NUMbErS The major energy suppliers will be able to miss part of the Energy Company Obligation (Eco) targets under changes put forward by the government. The changes, which will bring down the estimated cost of Eco from £1.4 billion per year back in line with the original estimate of £1.3 billion per year, would allow suppliers to deliver less than their share of the new 2015 Carbon Emissions Reduc- tion Obligation (CERO) target. The plans proposed a reduc- tion of 33 per cent of the 2015 CERO target, although the March 2015 targets for the Carbon Saving Community Obligation (CSCO) and Affordable Warmth scheme would remain the same. If a supplier fell short of the revised target, their 2017 CERO target, which will be set pro rata of the March 2015 levels, would increase by 1.1 times the shortfall. Energy secretary Ed Davey said the proposed changes "deliver longer term certainty" to allow businesses to effectively plan the delivery of energy efficiency measures. Peter Smith, external affairs manager at fuel poverty charity National Energy Action, said some of the changes "could greatly improve the current scheme" but warned "the available resources through Eco remain insufficient". Shadow energy minister Jonathan Reynolds criticised the cuts and said "the only people who will benefit from the government's changes are the big energy companies" as the cuts to the scheme "have le consumers out in the cold". Neil Marshall, chief execu- tive of the National Insulation Association, warned that the consultation over the proposed changes maintains uncertainty around the sector, and added that "the cuts to CERO are extreme". The changes are out to con- sultation until 16 April. MD Seven days... "An industry that has over-promised and in future may under-deliver" Former SSE chief executive Ian Marchant gives his verdict on offshore wind Suppliers to be allowed to miss part of Eco target The proportion of its gas the UK will import by 2020, according to Centrica boss Sam Laidlaw Number of jobs to be lost at Eon as it "streamlines" its sales operations 70% 450